The Syrian crisis enters its seventh year with Russia in control; shown in its military intervention, as well as sponsoring negotiations between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and representatives of the opposition. After a year and a half of Russian air strikes in Syria at the request of Assad, the situation on the ground has changed, but Russian operations have not stopped. They continue, arguing they are fighting armed terrorist groups.

#DDX3 is Munathara’s biggest event of the year. It brings together past participants who took part in the 2016 live televised debates along with the winners of the #DDX3 online competition which asked participants to respond to the prompt “Others have the right to..” with their own method of artistic expression to encourage a vibrant conversation on individual rights. The online competition saw a record number of video submissions from youth all over the Arab world who responded to the prompt with music, poetry, dancing, speeches, and more. #DDX3 gathered many creative youth and prominent artists together. Youth participants from Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen took the stage to showcase their talent alongside prominent artists from across the Arab world.

For decades, the Arab World has felt the profound effects of US foreign policy. This November, the American people will select a new president who will steer that policy during a time in which Americans and Arabs alike question the US’s role in the Middle East. Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton represent two very different choices in this respect.

Islamist movements have for long been a key force on the Arab political scene; and in recent years, especially with the rise of Islamist political parties to power in several Arab countries, the divide has widened between these movements’ supporters on the one hand and their opponents on the other.

Did the Left manage to change Arab societies to establish equality and justice for all? Did the Left create a general umbrella, under which all complications and contradictions of the region can co-exist?

Minority rights – whether ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities – are an integral part of international human rights law. Respect for minority rights provides protection of existence, protection from oppression and discrimination, space to strengthen their identity, and the ability to participate in political life...

Attitudes to social media vary greatly on the role played in our daily life; this role is amplified each passing day as social media becomes one of the most effective ways to communicate with individuals all over the world...

Munathara's annual year-end event brings together contributions from artists and speakers from all over the Arab world, focused on a single topic. Contributions ranged from song to dance to poetry to speeches, all speaking to those in power...

The crisis in Syria has affected not only Syria, but the entire Middle East. Some believe that the fall of the Assad regime is the only way to end the refugees crisis, enable them to return to their homeland, and begin to rebuild a new democratic Syria from the rubble of Assad's war against the revolution.

As the Middle East and North Africa has faced a time of turmoil - with revolutions, transitions, and wars - a new and fierce battle is being waged between Arab states and the Islamic State (ISIS). As democratic transitions were largely deserted and revolutions turned to wars, ISIS has emerged as a major threat throughout the region. Some have said that the emergence of this new threat has given new life to autocratic regimes in the region, providing them with a renewed reason to assert their authority and take away the rights of their citizens under the pretense of fighting ISIS and the terrorist threat. On the other side, many would argue that ISIS is an existential threat, waging extreme violence on everyone in its path, and therefore one must defeat it at any cost.

After the high expectations brought by the "Arab Spring", the Arab world is divided: there are those who believe that the region is at the mercy of Western conspiracies and those who no longer doubt that the problems plaguing the Arab world are caused by the Arabs themselves.

Every year, more than 2 billion Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. But every year, there is confusion about when it begins.

Every year, more than 2 billion Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. But every year, there is confusion about when it begins. A topic that impacts people in every country of the world, Munathara's debate #DD16 on the motion “Arab countries should use science to determine a single start date of Ramadan" considered questions of religious practices, scientific methods, cultural traditions, and modern practicalities that impact nearly one-fourth of the world's population.

As the world approaches the fifth anniversary of the Arab revolutions, Munathara takes a look back at the impact of the revolutions with #DD15 on the motion: “The Arab World was Better off Before the Revolutions.”

After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January 2015, almost nothing has been more controversial and spurred more conversations all around the world than freedom of expression. Does anyone have the right to say whatever they want, regardless of the effect that it might have on others?

Most of Munathara’s debates feature two sides – for and against – arguing two different sides of a motion. But, often topics are not so black and white. So, what about a third opinion? And all the other opinions? That’s what #DDX is about.

#DD13: Does a Successful Democratic Transition in the Arab World Require the Participation of Political Islam?

In the third installment of Munathara Policy Debates series, Munathara took on an issue the entire Arab world is talking about: what role should Islamic political parties play in the democratic process in the region?

On October 9th 2014, Munathara presented its twelfth live debate on the topic: Do Arabs want security before rights and freedoms? The debate featured prominent Tunisian security analyst and head of the prison guard’s union Olfa Ayari and youth winner Hanaa Al Qadi from Tunisia arguing for the motion and former Libyan General National Council member and human rights activist Hassan Al Amin with the other musabaqat Munathara winner Yasser Wael from Egypt arguing against the motion ...

The first instalment of Munathara’s Policy Debates, and the organization’s first live debate in Yemen, #DD11 was held on July 2, 2014, on the motion: "Arab Women’s Participation - Only through Quotas?” Broadcast on Al Jazeera Mubasher, the debate featured two young winners of our eleventh competition: Marwan Ismail from Yemen and Mustafa Abdellatif from Egypt. They debated alongside long-time Yemeni activist and President of the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights ...

On October 9, 2013, Munathara held its live debate #DD10, on the motion, Is Tunisia Facing Bankruptcy? Broadcast on Hannibal TV in Tunisia, the debate featured two young winners of our tenth program cycle, debating alongside the former transitional Minister...

Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, we have heard a never-ending stream of opinions and opinions from analysts and experts about the situation in Syria. We have heard from foreign leaders, political factions, and those engaged in the fighting...

In a highly controversial debate, Munathara’s #DD8 asked: Should Tunisia separate religion and the state? Broadcast live on Al Jazeera Mubasher, the debate became the subject of wide national attention in the Tunisian public sphere, setting the agenda for the country’s discourse on a key sticking point...

Held in Amman, Jordan, Munathara’s seventh live debate tackled the question: Is Arab political unity our destiny? At a time when the positive momentum of the Arab Spring was seen as waning, the initiative stimulated a pan-Arab debate about the long-term vision for the region. The live event was preceded...

In its first-ever debate dedicated to a national context, Munathara asked the question: Is Tunisia on the right path? The October 23, 2012 deadline for Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly to conclude its work had just passed, and many were wondering if the ruling Ennahda party had taken Tunisia...

Following the suspension of its predecessor organisation Dubai Debates, Munathara held its first debate in Tunis on June 24, 2012, on the question: Should freedom of expression in the Arab world sometimes be limited by law? Although citizen voices were part of all our debates, it was with this fifth program cycle (#DD5) that introduced the concept of Musabaqat Munathara...

The fourth and final instalment of the Dubai Debates, held on December 18, 2011, brought together four inspiring Arab opinion leaders to discuss the role of women in the Arab Spring. Women, at the forefront of the Arab revolutions...

Of the many challenges facing the Middle East region, one of the most salient ones is energy. Finite resources like oil and gas are not only detrimental to the environment and expensive; they have also been a cause of tensions...

With this debate, the initiative was able to attract broad attention by bringing together an a-list panel of experts to discuss the future of the Arab Spring - in Dubai. Held on May 31, 2011, Dalia Mogahed, Shadi Hamid, Abdel Bari Atwan and Tarik Yousef debated over the current state...

The inaugural Dubai Debates (#DD1) event was held on February 23, 2011 - barely ten days after the ouster of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. At the time, the role of social media in the Arab uprisings was widely discussed and also inspired the motion of our debate...